FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT VIC KOENNING - PAGE 2

From Illinois athletic director Ron Guenther's perspective, the Illini can transform from a 3-9 season to annual bowl contenders after the recent changes to the football coaching staff. "You can sustain a bowl program," Guenther said. "I don't know if you can reach the top of the hill every year. I see no reason for this program not to be in the bowl business every year. I feel good about what we've done here." Guenther said the assistant coaches who recently were hired, including offensive coordinator Paul Petrino and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, were selected to help relieve head coach Ron Zook of some responsibilities.

CHAMPAIGN -- Didn't have time to fill out an application for the Illinois head football coach position? You now have until Thursday. The extension of the deadline moved the application cut-off from Tuesday night to Thursday night, but it is not considered an unusual move in a coaching search process. Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas has been interviewing candidates to replace Ron Zook, who was fired on Nov. 27 at the end of the regular season. Vic Koenning, the team's defensive coordinator, is serving as the interim coach. Illinois is preparing to play in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec. 31 against UCLA.

The Illinois football staff continues to change. Offensive coordinator Paul Petrino has left the team to rejoin his brother Bobby's staff at Arkansas. Quarterbacks coach Jeff Brohm will take over for Petrino as Illinois prepares for the Dec. 31 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against UCLA. Petrino left Arkansas to take the role at Illinois in 2009. The Illini staff faces more uncertainty following the firing of coach Ron Zook at the conclusion of the regular season. Interim coach Vic Koenning said it's not guaranteed any coach will remain on board at Illinois through the bowl game, including himself, as he has encouraged them all to look for new jobs.

New Mexico State fired coach Hal Mumme on Tuesday, ending a four-year run during which the program often ended up in the news for the wrong reasons. The Aggies were 11-38 under Mumme, including five wins against teams from the Football Championship Subdivision. They lost seven straight games to end the season 3-9, including 49-0 at home to Boise State and 47-2 at Utah State. During Mumme's tenure, the university also paid $165,000 to settle a 2006 lawsuit brought by three former Muslim players who claimed they were dismissed because of their religious beliefs.

New Illinois football coach Tim Beckman has asked Vic Koenning to stay on board as a defensive coordinator. Now it's up to Koenning to decide if he would like to remain on staff as part of a new regime. "There are a lot of things to consider," Koenning told reporters after Tuesday's practice. He plans to tell Beckman his decision by Wednesday. Koenning, who is serving as the interim coach for the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, expressed the desire for the rest of the defensive staff to remain employed at Illinois.

Illinois will name Cincinnati's Tim Banks as its defensive coordinator, completing new football coach Tim Beckman's staff, according to reports. Banks served as the Bearcats' co-defensive coordinator last season, when the team ranked first nationally in tackles for losses with 8.58 per game and second with 3.46 sacks per game. Prior to his stint in Cincinnati, he served in the same position for three seasons at Central Michigan. The Illini originally offered the job to Vic Koenning, who was the team's defensive coordinator the last two seasons, but he took a job on the North Carolina staff.

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois announced the hiring of two assistant coaches to new coach Tim Beckman's staff. Mike Ward and Alex Golesh both left Toledo, where Beckman had served as head coach the last three seasons, for jobs at Illinois. Ward was Toledo's co-defensive coordinator but will serve as a position coach with the Illini. Beckman did not reveal which position Ward would coach. Golesh, who worked at Northern Illinois as a graduate assistant for two years, will be the team's recruiting coordinator.

Tim Banks was officially named the new Illinois defensive coordinator after serving as a co-defensive coordinator at Cincinnati the last two seasons. The hiring completes the staff for new head coach Tim Beckman. "Tim Banks is a great fit for the University of Illinois,” Beckman said in a statement released by the school Wednesday. “I consider him one of the brightest young coaches in the nation. Tim will run a very aggressive defensive system that will work very well with our personnel.” The defensive coordinator job was originally turned down by Vic Koenning, who served in the slot the last two seasons.

Illinois linebacker Trulon Henry was released from the hospital Tuesday afternoon after suffering a gunshot wound early Sunday morning. The senior is planning to stand on the sidelines during Saturday's final home game against Wisconsin. Doctors told Henry that they will let the bones attempt to reset without further surgery, his wife Morgan Henry said. Henry's younger brother Arrelious Benn, a former Illini receiver now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, visited him Tuesday in Champaign.